DATE: January 9, 2007

CONTACT: Denise Rocha

Campaign Assistant

877-463-6953 ext 339

715-677-7000

pride@wlf.info

TO: Assignment Editor and News Producer

Wisconsin is home to one of only 13 Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centers in the World.

Nestled deep in the heart of central Wisconsin on the grounds of the Wisconsin Lions Camp in Rosholt, over a million pairs of eyeglasses from all over the Mid-West are recycled and distributed to 46 countries worldwide. The Lions Eyeglass recycling program distributes the glasses through Lions Missions and through other service organizations.

The Wisconsin Lions Foundation Eyeglass Recycling Center’s two main sources of funding for the past 30 years have been Lions Clubs and the sale of precious metals used in years past to construct glasses. Today most glasses are no longer made using precious metals so that funding source has all but dried up, but the Lions of Wisconsin have been successful in keeping the Center going.

In order to ensure the future of the Eyeglass Recycling Center and other state-wide projects of the Wisconsin Lions Foundation a special campaign was begun called the Lions Pride Campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise and secure a $25 Million dollar endowment fund, the earnings from which will help the Lions of Wisconsin to continue to serve the people of Wisconsin and the World.